Sepper Moments
by wildfirexpassion
Summary: Moments between Sam and Pepper.Ends out Sam x Pepper Hence, Sepper. A collection of oneshots.
1. Chapter 1

"If Jake Ely says one more word to me today, I'm going to scream my head right off!"

Pepper looked over his shoulder as Samantha Forster stormed into the barn, her eyes narrowed and her feet making stomping noises as she marched over to Tempest's stall, which was right next to Tank. A small grin tugged on his lips as he watched the younger girl stroke her three-year-old horse's nose.

"He just got back from college yesterday, and you two are already trying to murder each other?" Pepper asked amusedly, his hands absently fingering the fringe on Tank's faded halter.

"Yes." Sam huffed irately. "I mean, would it be too much to ask if he /didn't/ try to tease me for once?"

"You said something, didn't you?" Pepper asked with a smile.

"Well." Sam mumbled. "I said he was an aggravating cowboy, and if he said another word I'd smack him so hard he wouldn't know which end was up, but that's nothing to get all mad about."

Pepper chuckled, but he wisely didn't say anything.

--- ---- ---- --- --- ---- ---- --- ---- ---- ----

It was after supper, and everything was, as usual, chaotic. Cody, who could now talk and walk, was banging on the tabletop with his fork and spoon, while Bryanna and Wyatt were trying to get him to be quiet. Gram was looking on amusedly at their attempts, while Jake, Ross, and Dallas all finished off their second helpings. Sam and Pepper were stuck sitting next to each other at the end of the table. As usual, they were the first two to finish their dinner.

"Gotten a bit noisy, hasn't it?" Pepper faintly heard Sam say.

He grinned at her. "A bit."

Sam picked up her plate and cup, rising gracefully from the table and went over to set her dishes in the sink. Pepper got up and followed her, turning on the faucet so she could briefly run the plates under the water and rinse them out. His hands touched her cold one as he turned the faucet up, and he quickly took his hand away. Glancing at her, he saw that she was looking at him closely. Blushing, he looked away.

"Wanna go...watch TV or something?" Sam asked suddenly, running a hand through her hair and wincing when Cody let out a loud shout. Pepper nodded wordlessly, and they went into the living room where most of the sound was blocked out.

"Ahh. Peace at last."

"NO! MY FWORK!"

"Famous last words, Sam." Pepper said, grinning as he reached over and got the black TV remote and handed it to her.

"I know." Sam said dryly, pressing the button and watched as the TV sprang to life.

--------- ------- ------ ---- ---- ----- ------ ---

"Hey, Sam?" Pepper asked distractedly, as he leaned against the rail. Sam was standing beside him, distracting his thoughts as he realized how close they were. His hands clenched the horse pen railing as he tried to keep his thoughts straight.

"Yeah?" Sam seemed a bit absent minded too, but maybe that was because she had her head tilted to the side as her eyes watched the setting sun that settled on the Nevadan mountains.

"How do you feel about Jake?"

"How do I feel about /what/?" Great. He had startled her with the question, when he had meant it to be subtle. He winced at his stupidity as his fingers nervously tapped a rhythm on the steel.

"I mean-well, Uhm..." /Think/ Pepper/think/. You just had to ask that stupid question and got yourself into this mess, now get yourself out of it. "I was just wondering how you...feel about him." Pepper finished lamely, averting his eyes to the ground. It had been on his mind a lot lately, and he had been dying to ask her. Find out just how she felt about Jake so if she did love him, Pepper wouldn't get crushed if he ever found the guts to tell her.

To tell her that he liked Sam.

"Well...I don't know. Why?"

Pepper just shrugged, wishing he hadn't brought it up in the first place.

There was a short silence where only the sound of faint nickering and horses' hooves could be heard. A fierce blush was creeping up Pepper's neck as he continued to be fascinated by a small puddle.

"Pepper...are you asking if I /like/ Jake?" Sam asked after a few minutes, turning her head away from the sunset in order to look at him. He felt himself squirming under her gaze, and trying to prevent it nether less.

"Yeah. I guess I am."

"Well, I don't. Not in the way you think, anyway."

He looked at her, surprised. She smiled at him, a playful glint in her eye as she held his steady gaze with hers easily.

Pepper's spirits lifted slightly. If she didn't like Jake, then, and it didn't look like she was in love with anyone else, it was worth the chance wasn't it?

He leaned over, closing the space between them, and kissed her, letting all of his nervousness and worry flow free. 


	2. Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic

**Authoress Note:: **I've been writing up oneshots like crazy, lately! This is called _Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic _ , which is the name of the song my most favorite singer **ever**, John Barrowman did/re-did.

Anyway;; I thought about submitting this as a oneshot alone, but I remembered this story half way through writing this, so I'd thought I'd submit it here! Also, running a bit out of ideas here, so...request a oneshot, please?

**Last two things:** I got a request to do a Pepper x Sam one like my other Ross x Sam oneshot, Guilty Pleasures. I am **writing** that oneshot; it is in progress. Also, this is another way Sam and Pepper could get their feelings out to one another. It stands alone. **Read on:D**

_'Though I've tried before to tell her_

_Of the feelings I have for her in my heart_

_Every time that I come near her_

_I just lose my nerve_

_As I've done from the start'_

"Hey, Sam?"

Sam turned in the saddle, green eyes curious as she rested her hand on the base of the Western saddle."Yeah?"

Pepper swallowed, trying to get the courage back up. His heart beat loudly in his chest, as if it wanted everyone - Sam including - to hear it. At first, when they had been assigned to go out and check on the cattle along the far line of the acreage, Pepper had thought of it as the perfect chance to get to tell Sam how he felt about her. But quickly he felt himself loosing his courage, his throat closing in the words he wanted to get out.

..."I... just wanted to tell you to watch for snakes and rabbit holes. They're sneaky."

_Every little thing she does is magic_

_Everything she does0 just turns me on_

_Even though my life before was tragic_

_Now I know my love for her goes on_

Pepper peered at the fence closely, trying to detect any cut wire or any possible way a calf or steer could wrangle it's way out. He had almost forgotten about Sam.

"Pepper!" A voice screamed behind him, terrified and shril. Pepper jerked around in the saddle, twisting, to see Sam get bucked off her horse and her flying through the air. A sickening feeling settled in Pepper's stomach when he saw where she was going to land; the ditch was deep and shallow with murky water. The splash that sounded when Sam's body impacted into the water was one that Pepper would always remember.

Pepper jerked on Tank's reins and sent him galloping towards the ditch, and Ace was already panicking and heading back towards Riverbend. Pepper was already out of Tank's saddle before he stopped completely.

_Do I have to tell the story_

_Of a thousand rainy days since we first met_

_It's a big enough umbrella_

_But it's always me that ends up getting wet_

Shivering, cold, and wet Pepper remembered the first time he had met Sam.

"Samantha, meet Pepper; he'll be working here. Pepper, meet Samantha; my daughter."

"Hi." Pepper had said shyly, not knowing whether or not he should shake her hand or what.

"Hi!" Sam had said enthusiasically, not at all shy of the new boy on the ranch.

Pepper had smiled, knowing that he suddenly liked this young girl.

_I resolve to call her up a thousand times a day_

_And ask her if she'll marry me in some old fashioned way_

_But my silent fears have gripped me_

_Long before I reach the phone_

_Long before my tongue has tripped me_

_Must I always be alone?_

_Every little thing she does is magic_

_Everything she does just turns me on_

_Even though my life before was tragic_

_Now I know my love for her goes on_

She was soaked to the bone, her clothes still dripping ditch water. She wrapped her arms around Pepper's waist; as he was just as wet as she was, though he had taken off his shirt before he had dived in the water. He could feel her shivering, cold and still in shock from the fall. Pepper felt lucky that she had landed in water, and not the ground.

"Pepper? I know this probably isn't the best time but..."

"Yeah?" He asked absently, as he gently pulled Tank around towards the ranch.

"...I think I love you."


End file.
